ReadWrite - Appshttp://readwrite.com/tag/Apps
enCopyright 2015 Wearable World Inc.http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:45:21 -0700LG's Urbane LTE Smartwatch Looks Great, But It'll Cost About $600<!-- tml-version="2" --><p>South Korean electronics giant LG <a href="http://social.lge.co.kr/newsroom/mc/watch_urbane_0326/">announced Thursday</a> (via <a href="http://www.androidcentral.com/lg-watch-urbane-lte-launch-korea">AndroidCentral</a>) that it plans to release its SIM card equipped smartwatch, <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/02/26/lg-urbane-lte-no-android-wear">the Urbane LTE</a>, in a little less than a month in its home country, with a price of 650,000 won. That translates to a little shy of $600, a price that would put the new wearable firmly into Apple Watch territory.</p><p>What you get is a pretty great-looking smartwatch that, on paper, can do a lot of what a smartphone can—albeit at a smartphone price. You'll also be buying into some real uncertainty as to what apps you'll you be able to use.</p><h2>What $600 Buys </h2><p>The Urbane LTE is a member in a very small club of smartwatches with SIM cards, which enable them to send and receive texts, place phone calls, and access the Internet without relying on a smartphone. The Urbane LTE is equipped with a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4GB of internal storage, and 1GB of RAM—twice as much as what’s found in Android Wear smartwatches. Additionally, it’s got NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, a heart rate sensor, and Wi-Fi connectivity stuffed inside as well.</p><p>It’s also got a bigger battery than other smartwatches, clocking in at 700 mAh. For comparison’s sake, LG’s most recent Android Wear device, the G Watch R, has a 400 mAh, which to date has been one of the beefier batteries found in a smartwatch. </p><div tml-image="ci01ca6e9fd0012a83" tml-image-caption="The LG Urbane LTE is one of the best looking wearables yet" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI5MDM3MTcwOTI4Mjk0MzY2.jpg" /><figcaption>The LG Urbane LTE is one of the best looking wearables yet</figcaption></figure></div><p>It’s also worth noting that the Urbane LTE is one of the better looking wearables to be revealed to date. Its band isn’t replaceable, since much of its necessary hardware is baked into the strap. Despite being a little bulky, it still manages to look more like an actual watch than much of what’s come before.</p><p>Even the stylish Apple Watch has more in common with a teeny iPhone than an actual watch. The Urbane LTE doesn’t seem to have that problem.</p><h2>What $600 Doesn’t Buy </h2><p>It sure looks like LG managed to cram every conceivable feature into the Urbane LTE that it could think of. But there’s one important detail that may hurt its overall value: It’s running a new, proprietary operating system, about which we know next to nothing. </p><p>When LG revealed the Urbane LTE during MWC in February, the company made a point of insisting that its operating system isn’t based on WebOS—despite <a href="http://wearableworldnews.com/2015/01/08/lgs-webos-smartwatch-real-ces/">evidence to the contrary appearing at CES a month earlier</a>. Whether it is or it isn’t related to WebOS doesn’t much matter, however. Whatever operating system it’s using won’t benefit from the huge library of apps already developed for Android Wear. </p><p>Maybe LG will have its own first-party apps available for the device when it launches in a few weeks. It’s even possible that LG has been working with third-party developers to create their own apps to round out the software available for the watch. But even if that’s true, it seems unlikely that there will be much you can do with the device outside of its built-in functions.</p><div tml-image="ci01c81fd2e001efe2" tml-image-caption="There's a lot of hardware in a tiny package. But without apps, all that hardware may get old fast." tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI4Mzg3NTc5NDA0ODg4NzA3.jpg" /><figcaption>There's a lot of hardware in a tiny package. But without apps, all that hardware may get old fast.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Of course, with all of the aforementioned hardware, the Urbane LTE will certainly be capable of plenty. But LG would have done well to provide it with an operating system capable of running interesting, innovative apps, too. Maybe the “LG Wearable Platform operating system” will catch on with developers and tons of apps are on their way—but it hasn't made much noise so far, making it unlikely those apps will be around at launch.</p><p>For now, LG hasn’t mentioned when or if the Urbane LTE will be sold outside of South Korea. If it does break free of Korea’s borders, it might have an uphill battle in the face of less expensive—and more app-capable—alternatives. </p><p><em>Images courtesy of LG</em></p>Smartphone prices for a smartphony watch. Also: Apps? What apps?http://readwrite.com/2015/03/26/lg-urbane-lte-600-what-apps
http://readwrite.com/2015/03/26/lg-urbane-lte-600-what-appsWearThu, 26 Mar 2015 11:19:32 -0700Brian P. RubinWhat Android Smartwatches Really Need To Compete<!-- tml-version="2" --><p>In the wake of Monday’s big Apple Watch event, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/10/8181069/android-wear-update-wi-fi-support-gesture-control">The Verge</a> reports that Google will update its Android Wear operating system with support for Wi-Fi and gestures, as well as quicker, easier access to built-in apps and contacts.&nbsp;</p><p>Google neither confirmed nor denied the report, though it did tell&nbsp;<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/10/wi-fi-and-gestures-could-soon-help-android-wear-match-some-apple-watch-advantages/">TechCrunch</a> that its Android Wear development team is “hard at work.” (Whatever that means.)&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><strong>See also: <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/02/17/htc-samsung-lg-stick-with-google-android-wear">Hey, Samsung, LG And HTC—Shunning Android Wear Is A Huge Mistake</a></strong></p></blockquote><p>Those might be intriguing additions to its smartwatch software, but there may be more fundamental matters to attend to. Because,&nbsp;despite their yearlong head start, Android wearables will soon lag behind the new Apple Watch across some key areas.&nbsp;</p><h2>Watch Face Customization</h2><div tml-image="ci01b2d9813ddf860c" tml-image-caption="A pre-loaded watch face for LG's earlier G Watch." tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTE5NDg0MDYxMTAxNjIyNzk5.jpg" /><figcaption>A pre-loaded watch face for LG's earlier G Watch.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Watch faces shouldn't be underestimated. That's the one screen smartwatch users will stare at the most, and it's the area that will be on display almost constantly, adorning people's arms.</p><p>When it comes to letting users customize what those little clocks look like, Google can't hold a candle to Apple. That seems strange, considering the former usually leans toward openness, while the latter&nbsp;is known for its restrictiveness and locked-down approach.&nbsp;</p><p>But on Monday, Apple showed people just how flexible it can be, starting with its broad range of built-in watch faces. Users have a range of options to change out clock styles—from analog and digital displays, to alternative watch faces with weather, steps, appointments or other data.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the company, those options allow for&nbsp;"millions of possible configurations." At the very least, they cover more fine-grained controls than its Android counterpart allows.&nbsp;</p><div tml-image="ci01a8bfd81b83860b" tml-image-caption="Apple Watch Sport" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI0NDk1MjI4Nzg1NzE2Nzc4.jpg" /><figcaption>Apple Watch Sport</figcaption></figure></div><p>Watch face customization remains a large gap that Google inexplicably doesn't cover as a core feature. Users typically only get a few choices, mostly supplied by their smartwatch maker. </p><p>Android Wear partners like Motorola, for instance, lets Moto 360 users choose their own photos or pick from a limited selection of watch hands or colors. The company, which just announced new hardware <a href="http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2015/03/moto-360-on-motomaker.html">customizations via its Moto Maker tool</a>, has been on a tear to give smartwatch users plenty of options both on the inside and outside.&nbsp;</p><p>Its watch face tool sits in a Connect app designed for Moto 360 users only, though, which is separate from the core Wear app that all Android Wear watches rely on. They—and any other Android Wear users—can also download more watch faces from third-party apps, or even make their own DIY versions using editors like <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jeremysteckling.facerrel">Facer</a> or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=slide.watchFrenzy">WatchMaker</a> (though the results don't always look very slick).&nbsp;<br tml-linebreak="true" /></p><div tml-image="ci01c928d5b0012a83" tml-image-caption="Moto 360, courtesy of Moto Maker customization tool" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI4Njc4OTYwMTg2ODM3MDAy.jpg" /><figcaption>Moto 360, courtesy of Moto Maker customization tool</figcaption></figure></div><p>Although several alternatives have emerged for watch faces, for ease of use, they can't beat having a single, no-hassle tool built in. Apple will offer that. So will LG's new smartwatch platform. As for Android Wear, we're still waiting.&nbsp;</p><h2>More Customization In General</h2><p>The need for customization extends far beyond clock faces.&nbsp;</p><p>Google could improve its smartwatch experience greatly by giving users more customization and control over what lands on their wrists. Smartphone notifications may or <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/03/10/death-to-smartphone-notifications-on-smartwatch">may not be worth having</a> on watches, but for now, it's still the primary function—and it's especially needed for calls and messages.</p><div tml-image="ci01bdbda1c0012a83" tml-image-caption="Sony Smartwatch 3&amp;nbsp;" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTI1NDY0ODY1NDM0Mjc4MzY2.png" /><figcaption>Sony Smartwatch 3&amp;nbsp;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Currently, users can block certain apps from sending alerts to watches. But they can't, say, set their watches to only allow call notifications from spouses, or only allow texts from the boss through.&nbsp;</p><p>There's also no way to alter the canned responses to incoming texts or other messages. While Google provides a pre-made list of replies, sometimes you need to convey something that they just don't cover. Again, third-party apps like <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bmc.wearresponses">Wear Responses</a> provide this ability, but it's a band-aid to make up for what should have been a basic stock feature.&nbsp;</p><h2>Having Control Issues</h2><p>An upcoming Android Wear update will supposedly give users quicker access to apps and contacts. If true, it seems like a good update.&nbsp;But the work shouldn’t stop there.&nbsp;</p><p>Consider this: Right now, the Apple Watch is getting ready to give users features that no other smartwatch offers. Users will get new messaging features—like sending emoji, scribbles and even heart beats to other Watch users—and the ability to place calls, pay for goods and even open hotel doors from the wrist.&nbsp;</p><div tml-image="ci01c90b3aa001efe2" tml-image-caption="Apple Watch&amp;nbsp;" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI4NjQ2NDA5NzAzNDQyNDQy.jpg" /><figcaption>Apple Watch&amp;nbsp;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Meanwhile, I can't even check my agenda for next week.&nbsp;I can see some calendar data via the Google Now voice feature, but if&nbsp;I want to see what's coming up,&nbsp;cancel events or add appointments through my watch, I'm out of luck.&nbsp;</p><p>The handy things I do have on my wearable—an easily accessible brightness slider, a remote Wi-Fi toggle for my phone, an audio trigger so I can find a misplaced phone and a volume adjuster—come courtesy of a third-party app called&nbsp;Wear Launcher.&nbsp;It's great that I can get the app, but it would be better if Google gave users that control in the first place.&nbsp;We shouldn't have to download an app just to manage basic power functions.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><strong>See also: <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/03/10/death-to-smartphone-notifications-on-smartwatch">Why Phone Notifications Don't Belong On Your Wrist</a></strong></p></blockquote><p>There are plenty of Google apps and services that would benefit from better and more granular smartwatch controls—Music, Calendar, and Contacts being chief among them.&nbsp;</p><p>Giving users more control over their data and devices is an area Google excelled at, much more so than Apple. With the impending release of the Apple Watch, Google should remember why so many people started using Android products in the first place. Perhaps, if it does, that might even convince&nbsp;hardware partners to stay in the fold instead of <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/02/17/htc-samsung-lg-stick-with-google-android-wear">seeking alternatives</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Lead photo courtesy of Sony; all other photos courtesy of respective companies</em></p>More customization and control.http://readwrite.com/2015/03/11/android-wear-google-control-customization-settings-apple-watch
http://readwrite.com/2015/03/11/android-wear-google-control-customization-settings-apple-watchWearWed, 11 Mar 2015 06:00:00 -0700Brian P. RubinWhy Phone Notifications Don't Belong On Your Wrist<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01c91d8bf0019512" tml-image-caption="Would you want to check your watch as much as your phone?" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI4NjY2NTUwMTQ3MjMwMzM5.jpg" /><figcaption>Would you want to check your watch as much as your phone?</figcaption></figure></div><p>Start shopping for a smartwatch, and you'll notice—no matter what the make and model—that the ability to show notifications from your phone is touted as one of the major selling points. But is this feature actually such a benefit in everyday use?</p><p>No need to take your phone out of your pocket, because your tweets are right there on your watch. Leave your mobile in your desk drawer, because your emails come straight to your wrist. Manage your texts without launching apps, unlocking screens or even typing. It's all here.</p><p>There are <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/06/the-apple-watch-is-time-saved/">tales of early Apple Watch testers</a> barely using their iPhones because they're managing everything on their wrists. "I like to be able to look at my watch without pulling my phone out all the time," said Apple's Kevin Lynch during Monday's Apple Watch event, as he walked the audience through numerous app demonstrations.</p><p>In many smartwatch sales pitches we're promised freedom from our smartphones: less time checking our mobiles and more time interacting in the real world and focusing on what's in front of us. Here's the potential problem: the exact opposite happens, and you become more attached to scanning for notifications, not less.</p><h2>The Tiny Screen That Eats The World</h2><p>Everyone who owns a smartphone knows the temptation there is to look for a new tweet, email, text or IM every couple of minutes, even when you haven't felt a buzz or heard a tone. Drop your phone into a bag or turn it upside on a table and that temptation is diminished somewhat. But if it's right there on your wrist, it never goes away.</p><p>The accessibility and always-on nature of wearables offer some great opportunities, but allowing relentless smartphone chatter to intrude even further into our real lives should not be one of them. The data suggests that on average <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/heres-the-cold-hard-proof-that-we-cant-stop-checking-our-pho">we're checking our phones more than 100 times a day</a>. Are we sure we know what we're doing by transferring that urge to a screen that's even closer and requires no unlocking?</p><p>I've tested several Android Wear smartwatches over the last year as part of my duties as a tech journalist. I found that the act of checking my wrist was so easy—a quick movement and glance—that I was doing it almost constantly. And that's a problem if you have anything else to do (like pretending to listen to a presentation).</p><p>In my experience, these devices didn't give me more time to focus on the real world (whether that means friends, work, dinner or a movie), they actually made me more distracted. It was harder than ever to stay in the moment, whether my watch was chiming or not, because the option to escape was always there.</p><h2>Alerts, Alerts Everywhere</h2><p>That wasn't the only problem. If you've got your computer set up to show phone alerts as well, like I have, then that's three devices going off every time something new happens. With a system like Apple's iMessage or Google Hangouts configured you could have even more.</p><p>Of course, you can cut down and manage this overload without too much effort—though it still does take effort, one of the countless small adjustments our personal technology seems to require of us on a regular basis. Even when I did so, though, it still felt like Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and their brethren were encroaching even further into my personal space.</p><p>In most cases you're just going to pull your mobile out anyway, to get a better look at what's just happened. For me, having notifications on my wrist became a gateway drug to even more smartphone use, not a cure or a replacement for it.</p><p>I've been a "dumb watch" wearer for many years, and once the review units had been packed away and sent back, it came as something of a relief to be able to once more check the time without knowing which apps were clamouring for my attention.</p><h2><strong>What Does Belong On Your Wrist?</strong></h2><p>That's not to say smartwatches are a bad idea—unwholesome devices that will inevitably suck us further and further into the digital app vortex. But how we use them, and what's displayed on them, needs some serious thought.</p><p>Take being able to walk through an airport gate with your arms full of luggage, for example, or paying for a transaction with a wave of your wrist, or getting navigation directions via haptic feedback while your hands are on the handlebars of your bike. These are all genuinely useful real-world applications.</p><p>Then there are the extensive health and fitness tracking features available on most smartwatch models and much more suited to a wearable than a smartphone. Being able to actually check the time with a glance—via a range of personalized watch faces—shouldn't be forgotten either.</p><p>Even alerts have their place: pop-ups when your flight is delayed, perhaps, or a meeting is about to start, or there's a weather warning. Google Now is making some useful progress with context-sensitive notifications that only show up when needed, and it'll be interesting to see if Apple does anything similar.</p><p>But a smartwatch used primarily as an extension of a mobile phone? Or even worse, a shrunk-down mobile phone? That's a less appealing prospect. Smartwatch makers, app developers and end users should think long and hard about what makes these wearables compelling. It's not being able to check your emails on your wrist.</p><p><em>Image via Apple</em></p>Let's beat smartwatch addiction before it even starts.http://readwrite.com/2015/03/10/death-to-smartphone-notifications-on-smartwatch
http://readwrite.com/2015/03/10/death-to-smartphone-notifications-on-smartwatchWearTue, 10 Mar 2015 10:36:57 -0700David NieldThe App Developer Checklist: 6 Ways To Keep Your Users Happy<!-- tml-version="2" --><p><em>Guest author Sean Bowen is CEO and co-founder of <a href="http://www.pushtechnology.com/about/">Push Technology</a>.</em></p><p>App marketplaces <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/01/26/ios-app-development-hollywood-revenues-growth">have exploded</a>. Apps have taken over as the preferred destination of mobile users, who now spend&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mobile-web-vs-app-usage-statistics-2014-4">86% of their time on them</a>, compared to just 14 percent on websites. The numbers suggest that dedicated mobile software offers the most optimal way of engaging users.</p><p>That is, as long as the app performs well.&nbsp;</p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p><strong>See also: <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/07/22/app-developers-middle-class-opportunities">Among Mobile App Developers, The Middle Class Has Disappeared</a></strong></p></blockquote><p>Mobile applications have come a long way since 1998, when a mobile version of the classic video game, Snake, arrived. Preinstalled on Nokia 6110 phones, the app had users navigating a “snake” of monochromatic, blocky pixels on their screens. Now apps will need more than that to carve out a permanent place on home screens. They'll have to contend with a long list of consumer expectations.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are six priorities app developers should focus on.&nbsp;</p><h2>1. Win the Performance Race</h2><p>In the world of mobile apps, speed sells. On-the-go users don’t want to wait for apps to load or updates to install, and they don’t care if an app’s sudden popularity creates a bandwidth bottleneck. They just want it to load quickly and work smoothly.</p><blockquote><p><strong>See also: <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/06/11/app-developer-demographics-mobile-enterprise-asia-china">50% Of App Developers Focus On Mobile, But They're Not Writing The Next Flappy Bird</a></strong></p></blockquote><p>In worst-case scenarios, users simply delete poorly performing apps. In fact, according to a survey by Compuware,&nbsp;<a href="http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2299176/Why-Users-Delete-Your-Mobile-App">59% say they would drag an app to the trash</a>&nbsp;if it’s too slow. Others find ways around the app—for instance, some savvy Facebook and Twitter users find that the websites often<a href="http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/360698/want-twitter-and-facebook-without-drain-and-noise-try-web"> outperform</a> those apps on speed and performance.&nbsp;</p><h2>2. End Wild Goose Chases</h2><p>When it comes to app design, less is more.&nbsp;Often times, apps that have been<a href="http://www.sitepoint.com/21-gorgeous-mobile-navigation-designs/"> praised</a> for their design are laid out logically and simply, and they perform how users expect them to. When users click on a menu, they have a reasonable idea of where they will end up, without having to guess where to find what they’re looking for.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s critically important that developers get the design right. According to an EPiServer poll, as many as<a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/62516-37-of-consumers-think-that-most-mobile-sites-are-difficult-to-navigate#i.tpgmt8luucp1t0">&nbsp;47% of users will delete an app</a>&nbsp;if it's too difficult to use.&nbsp;That’s exactly what many iPhone users did back in 2012, when the iOS 6 software came equipped with a “<a href="http://mashable.com/2012/09/20/the-world-according-to-apple-maps/">disaster</a>” called Apple Maps. The app was so difficult to use and inaccurate that it even spawned the Tumblr page, “<a href="http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/">The Amazing iOS 6 Maps</a>,” which collected screenshots of Apple Maps glitches. Many iPhone users turned to Google Maps and then stayed there. </p><h2>3. Keep The Same Experience, No Matter The Device</h2><p>Some users spring for in-app purchases in a tablet app—like a new game character or extra features—only to find that the upgrade doesn't carry over to the same app on their phones. Or they start listening to a podcast on an iPhone, only to waste time on the iPad version to find where they left off.&nbsp;</p><p>A user should be able to easily jump back and forth between different versions of the same apps on different devices, without feeling like they are starting from scratch. Unfortunately, these types of performance problems are only going to become more prevalent and frustrating for users as more people switch between multiple devices. In fact, Cisco&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/cisco-mobile-forecast-1-4-mobile-devices-per-capita-by-2018-7000026012/">estimates</a>&nbsp;that there will be 1.4 mobile devices per person by 2018.&nbsp;</p><p>Switching devices should be easy—like changing lanes on a highway. You may be in a different lane, but you’re still on the same journey. App users crave that same type of experience, and it’s up to app developers to ensure that the <a href="http://apmblog.compuware.com/2014/05/07/comparing-user-experiences-web-app-mobile/">user journey</a> stays consistent across devices.&nbsp;</p><h2>4. Banish Count Appula</h2><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/avoid-the-android-vampire-apps-7000031747/">According to AVG's CTO Yuval Ben-Itzhak</a>, "Apps are what make a phone, but they’re also what break it." There's some truth to that. Apps create millions of different experiences for users, but that potential can be wasted if they're&nbsp;"<a href="http://betanews.com/2014/02/27/top-10-android-battery-sucking-vampire-apps-get-your-garlic-and-holy-water/">vampire apps</a>."</p><p>Vampire apps&nbsp;eat up battery life, rack up data charges and dramatically impact overall device and app performance.&nbsp;Users can take steps to mitigate those effects. They can reduce data usage and battery drain by turning off location services or by using Wi-Fi instead of mobile network services whenever possible. New apps like <a href="http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/08/17/track-whats-draining-iphone-battery-normal/">Normal</a>, which crowdsources information about how apps deplete battery life, also help. But ultimately, it shouldn't be up to the consumer to make up for these failings.&nbsp;</p><p>App developers need to find ways to minimize data usage and streamline processing to improve performance and battery life.&nbsp;</p><h2>5. Remember Murphy’s Law</h2><p>If an app's function doesn’t perform as expected, users will be sure to zoom in on it. Some will complain about it to friends. Others will give the app a one-star review or even delete it altogether.&nbsp;</p><p>Let’s say you have a car rental app. It displays all available vehicles' make, model and year in a beautiful map of your surroundings. That’s all very helpful—but what if, because of unreliable network connectivity, the app can't actually book it? Or a glitch stopped the confirmation email from coming through, leaving you unsure if the request was received. Sounds like a fairly minor failure, but it leaves users with no confidence in the app. &nbsp;</p><h2>6. Play Nicely with Other Apps</h2><p>The apps with the richest performing experiences don't stubbornly trap users in one environment. Instead, they interact with each other, so users won't have to duplicate their actions or zigzag between stock apps—even if they do roughly the same thing. </p><p>For instance, Instagram users are probably happy that they can have all of their pictures automatically saved to the “Photos” application on their iPhone. They can apply Instagram filters before posting it on the network, or share the original, unedited versions with friends who don’t use Instagram.&nbsp;</p><p>Strong app performance isn’t just about how an app functions in a vacuum—app developers have to think about how their app fits into the larger ecosystem, as this is how users will derive true value.</p><h2>App-ortunity Knocks</h2><p>If you could send a new iPhone 6 owner back in time to 1998 to play Snake, he or she wouldn’t describe the game as fast, easy to use, responsive, interactive or compatible with other apps. But as technology has evolved, so, too, have user expectations.</p><p>For developers to live up to them, they need to understand that optimal app performance hinges on how well data is managed on the back end. If app makers need to think about how they can apply intelligent data distribution to make apps more lightweight, they can ensure that the data traveling across the network isn’t redundant or out-of-date.&nbsp;</p><p>The backend is invisible to&nbsp;users, so they may not know whether apps are designed using intelligent data distribution. But they will notice when apps don't perform as expected. &nbsp;</p><p><em>Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>&nbsp;</em></p>How to make sure users don't abandon your app.http://readwrite.com/2015/02/02/app-developer-checklist-features-performance
http://readwrite.com/2015/02/02/app-developer-checklist-features-performanceMobileMon, 02 Feb 2015 06:00:00 -0800Sean BowenApp Revenues Are Booming—But Perhaps Not For Long<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01bead9ee00199de" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI1NzI4NzM2NjgyMjQyMDE4.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>Former Facebook executive <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm">Jeff Hammerbacher once lamented</a> that "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads." I wonder if it would make him feel any better to know that a big chunk of those ads are, in turn, simple facades to drive app installs.</p><p>You know, the same apps (up to 95% of them) that languish in a <a href="http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/mobile/day-app-install/">lonely app graveyard</a>.</p><p>Hope springs eternal in Appland, however. With <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/01/26/ios-app-development-hollywood-revenues-growth">iOS app revenues topping Hollywood's box office receipts</a>&nbsp;in 2014, app developers are spending big to drive app installs, as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-mobile-app-install-ad-is-driving-a-boom-in-mobile-ad-spend-and-not-just-among-game-makers-2015-1">new report from Business Insider highlights</a>—and as Facebook's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/technology/facebook-quarterly-earnings.html">big mobile-ad earnings</a> Wednesday—attest. Is this a permanent shift in ad spending, or merely a bookmark until mobile search improves?</p><h2>The App Install Economy</h2><p>Most apps are lonely. By <a href="http://www.localytics.com/press/press_release/app-engagement-peaked-in-december/">one estimate</a>, user retention—that is, the percentage of people who open a given app more than once in a three-month period—ended 2014 at a mere 12%. While app engagement versus the mobile Web seems high (<a href="http://www.flurry.com/bid/109749/Apps-Solidify-Leadership-Six-Years-into-the-Mobile-Revolution#.VMfCkHDF9Ew">Flurry pegs</a> apps at 86% of our time spent in mobile), the reality is that just a few apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account for the vast majority of that engagement.</p><p>The rest of the apps sit around, waiting to get used. Google data, for example, <a href="http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/mobile/day-app-install/">indicates</a> that of the roughly 52 apps on the average U.S. smartphone, 33 (or 63%) haven't been touched in the last month.</p><p>Which is why the app install economy is taking off. Or took off, rather.</p><p>According to a Business Insider report, the app install market is already $3.6 billion, and should add another billion in 2015 and rising at a compound annual growth rate of 14% through 2019:</p><div tml-image="ci01c5a8016002efe2" tml-image-caption="Credit: Business Insider" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTI3NjkyODg3NzcyMTY0MDY2.png" /><figcaption>Credit: Business Insider</figcaption></figure></div><p>BI Intelligence estimates that this app install revenue accounts for 30% of all mobile ad spending, and calls out the relative efficacy of such ad units, with an&nbsp;average clickthrough rate (CTR) of 0.98% during the first quarter of 2014, compared to an average CTR of 0.24% for all Facebook ad types across desktop and mobile.</p><p>So it's a big business, one with a reasonable amount of growth left in it. But not the kind of growth we expect of mobile.</p><h2>Where's The Growth?</h2><p>While a few billion dollars is nothing to sneeze at, a 14% CAGR is. It's simply not that impressive, especially in light of the <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/29/mobile-apps-could-hit-70b-in-revenues-by-2017-as-non-game-categories-take-off/">overall growth in mobile apps</a>:</p><div tml-image="ci01c5a848800199de" tml-image-caption="Source: VentureBeat" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI3NjkzMTkzMjUxNjkwOTc0.jpg" /><figcaption>Source: VentureBeat</figcaption></figure></div><p>Much of that mobile app growth increasingly comes from non-game app types, suggesting that there's still healthy growth ahead for mobile apps.</p><p>At some point, however, we may lose our fetish for apps as connectivity and the Web catch up. As Apple and Google invest in improving the mobile Web experience—<a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/12/05/google-mobile-web-android-apple-ios8">and they are</a>—we may finally get back to where we are now on the desktop.</p><h2>A Farewell To Apps?</h2><p>Or, rather, the idea of an isolated app may change. And dramatically, as former Googler <a href="http://blog.intercom.io/the-end-of-apps-as-we-know-them/">Paul Adams speculates</a>:</p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p>The idea of having a screen full of icons, representing independent apps, that need to be opened to experience them, is making less and less sense. The idea that these apps sit in the background, pushing content into a central experience, is making more and more sense. That central experience may be something that looks like a notification centre today, or something similar to Google Now, or something entirely new.</p></blockquote><p>In such a world, the app isn't the important thing. Rather, it's the contextual experiences that our mobile devices deliver that are important, and those center on the messages that hit us at the right time and in the right place.&nbsp;</p><p>As Adams writes, we're already seeing this shift away from apps as notifications increasingly "are the app," allowing users to interact with the message itself without needing to visit an app.</p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p>The next iteration is obvious. Lots and lots of notification cards that enable full product experiences and independent workflows right inside the card. Comment on the Facebook post. Retweet the tweet. Buy the item on Amazon. Check in for the flight. Share the news story. Add the reminder to your to-do list. Book the restaurant. Swap the fantasy football player. Annotate the run you just finished. Pay the bill. And on and on.</p></blockquote><p>In such a world, the underlying OS takes on an ever-increasing importance. Apps become less so, while the back-end data sitting out on a server (attached to a website or to an app or both) becomes the critical experience as it's transformed into messages that, again, hit the user in the right time and place.</p><p>We're not there yet, and I'm not writing an obituary for the app experience. Not yet, anyway. But the writing is on the wall for self-contained apps that want to immerse users in an experience that is somehow divorced from the physical reality in which users live. Mobile blends physical and digital, and it increasingly does so through cards or notifications, not apps, per se.</p><p><em>Photo by Adriana Lee for ReadWrite</em></p>Don't get too cozy with that mobile-ad revenue, Facebook.http://readwrite.com/2015/01/28/end-of-apps-era-of-notifications
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/28/end-of-apps-era-of-notificationsMobileWed, 28 Jan 2015 14:43:02 -0800Matt AsayiOS Apps Generated More Revenue Than Hollywood Movies Last Year<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01c2dd4e50012a83" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI2OTA3MDY3MTMzOTE1MTA2.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>Over the years, software development has fashioned itself more and more to resemble the lucrative, gonzo machine that fuels Hollywood, with top talent scoring big deals and <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/programmers-price">even hiring agents</a>. So it was just a matter of time before one of its sectors actually overtook Tinseltown.&nbsp;</p><p>In this case, it’s the not-so-small segment of mobile app development. </p><p>As analyst Horace Dediu pointed out on his Asymco blog, <a href="http://www.asymco.com/2015/01/22/bigger-than-hollywood/">iOS apps drew in more bucks last year than the movie business.</a> Earlier this month, Apple <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/01/08App-Store-Rings-in-2015-with-New-Records.html">announced iPhone and iPad developers raked in as much as $10 billion</a> in 2014. Tack on the 30% or so that Apple itself made on top, and the roughly $14.3 billion exceeds the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2014">$10 billion or so</a>&nbsp;Hollywood made at the U.S. box office. &nbsp;</p><div tml-image="ci01c559abf0019512" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI3NjA2NzU4NjQ1NDcwNDgy.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>The threshold highlights how big the business of mobile apps has become—which is extraordinary, considering there was no meaningful mobile app business prior to 2008, when Apple’s App Store first launched.</p><h2><strong>Putting The Business Of App Making In Context</strong></h2><p>That doesn’t mean every app developer makes a ton of money—in fact, <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/08/08/ios-android-developers-pay-debugging">according to VisionMobile</a>, 50% of iOS developers and 64% of Android developers weigh in below the "app poverty line,” i.e. making less than $500 per app per month. But at least en masse and overall, the business of stocking Apple’s App Store, with its inventory of more than 1.4 million apps, looks like it’s booming. </p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p><strong>See also: </strong><a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/11/06/android-app-google-how-to-succeed-guide-google-play"><strong>Google To Developers: Here’s How To Score Big On Google Play</strong></a></p></blockquote><p>Lest Android app makers get left out of the gold rush, Google stepped in a couple of months ago to <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/11/06/android-app-google-how-to-succeed-guide-google-play">offer some tips</a> on how to cash in with Google Play and stand out amid its more than 1.3 million Android apps. </p><p>Developing for the Android platform is no easy task. These app makers often find themselves mired in testing and debugging for a large variety of devices, a problem that doesn't really concern your average iPhone app developer as much. </p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p><strong>See also: </strong><a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/07/03/ios-developer-android-developer-earnings-gap"><strong>iOS Developers Make More Money, But Android's Volume Is Closing The Gap</strong></a></p></blockquote><p>Last year, it looked like the hard work was beginning to pay off: The <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/07/03/ios-developer-android-developer-earnings-gap">growing volume of Android devices set the stage</a> for a widening pipeline of funds that could even catch up to iOS. What looked like an inevitability, however, seems a bit less certain now.</p><h2><strong>The Hard In Hardware </strong></h2><p>Obviously, device sales directly influence app development, since they fundamentally set the size of potential users. </p><p>Samsung, the leading Android device maker, saw cooling sales from its mobile division last year. Meanwhile, Apple saw a sudden, mad surge in iPhone sales last quarter. According to <a href="https://files.ctctcdn.com/150f9af2201/eae02686-e097-4881-a942-ff7d49f5d404.pdf">Consumer Intelligence Research Partners</a>, 50% of all phone activations in the last calendar quarter of 2014, ending in December, came from iPhones. As the report notes, that's a huge 28% increase over the third quarter. </p><p>For its part, the Android scene has some intriguing developments slated for this year. Google’s modular smartphone, known as Project Ara, looks fascinating, as does Samsung’s curved glass Galaxy Note Edge. The latter also <a href="http://readwrite.com/2015/01/21/don-tae-lee-samsung-design">just hired Lee Don-Tae</a>, a design expert that hails from the same firm that produced Apple’s Jony Ive. In other words, the South Korean company wants to incite the same fervor over its gadgets, including Android devices, as Ive sparked for the iPhone. </p><p>Heated rivalries. Large fanbases. Big revenues. Things certainly can't get anymore Hollywood than that.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Lead photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonahowie/7910370882">Jason Howie</a>; chart courtesy of &nbsp;Asymco</em></p>iPhone apps: 1, Blockbuster films: 0.http://readwrite.com/2015/01/26/ios-app-development-hollywood-revenues-growth
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/26/ios-app-development-hollywood-revenues-growthMobileMon, 26 Jan 2015 06:00:00 -0800Adriana LeeWould You Like Some History With Your News?<!-- tml-version="2" --><p>A San Francisco startup wants to inject a little history into your news.&nbsp;</p><p>The startup is Timeline, which has launched an iPhone app that features short articles about current events—and bite-sized history lessons to go with them.&nbsp;</p><p>Reading Timeline stories can be mind-expanding, if a little exhausting. One article on the minimum wage, for instance, notes that it rose in 20 states at the beginning of 2015 and expands on that for a few paragraphs before segueing into another article about the first minimum wage law passed in 1912. After that come another few paragraphs about a 1935 Supreme Court decision.</p><p>In all, that one "timeline" featured eight different sections, each illustrated with a picture, video, or some other visual element. Timeline considers each section a "card."</p><p>"It's a difficult process," said&nbsp;Jonathan Kalan, editor in chief of the new venture. "We try to keep entries to about 100 words a card, that's tough to do."&nbsp;</p><p>Timelines pegged to news events take Timeline's editorial team&nbsp;approximately a day to research and produce, while features can take between three and five days. Short articles have about five "cards," while longer ones have as many as 15. The startup doesn't try to put every news story into historical context, Kalan said; instead, it limits itself to events that will most benefit from the long view.</p><p>"It's impossible to cover everything in history, right?" Kalan said. "For us, the real key is finding a tight thread, one that allows us to ... focus on some sort of evolution, some sort of change (in a topic)."</p><p>The Timeline app is designed specifically to take advantage of larger screens on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The user interface is based on scrolling between cards, and works smoothly. One button lets you bookmark an article to read later (accessible via a page of stored bookmarks), and another lets you pop out of the text view and into a timeline view, with the dates and headings presented in chronological order. From there you can tap on a date and pop back in to the text view at that card entry.&nbsp;</p><div tml-image="ci01c49c01b001efe2" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI3Mzk4MjE5OTk4MDQ2ODUx.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>"Timeline was born out of personal frustration with the lack of historic and geographic context in current affairs: so much sensationalism couple with almost no depth," CEO Tamer Hassanein said in a press release.</p><p>The team plans another release in February with "more robust" features like better algorithms (i.e. better personalized news stories), an iPad-specific design, and "exploration modes." The current app is free and doesn't have any ads. A spokesperson for the company said Timeline has no plans for making money in the near or mid-term, and is instead focused on boosting consumer adoption first.</p><p><em>Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/catablogger/12958314513">John Overholt</a></em></p>The startup Timeline aims to provide you with just that.http://readwrite.com/2015/01/15/timeline-history-with-your-news
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/15/timeline-history-with-your-newsWebThu, 15 Jan 2015 07:00:00 -0800Richard ProcterUber Makes Nice With Cities, Offering Them Ride Data For Traffic Planning<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01c480b46001c80a" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI3MzY4MjAwODYxMDI5NjUw.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>Uber is offering an olive branch to the city governments it's often clashed with by <a href="http://blog.uber.com/city-data">sharing some of its transportation data</a> to help with traffic planning. Boston will be first in line, the company said Tuesday.</p><blockquote tml-render-layout="inline"><p><strong>See also: </strong><a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/11/19/uber-error-in-judgment-tech-execs-behaving-badly"><strong>An Uber Error In Judgment: When Tech Execs Behave Badly</strong></a></p></blockquote><p>The crowdsourced taxi service said it will provide anonymized data about Uber ride dates, times, and trip durations. This will ideally help the city ease traffic congestion by pinpointing peak locations and hours for travel. </p><p>This marks the first time Uber has opened up its data trove to anyone, but it could be argued that the company is returning a favor. This month, Massachusetts <a href="http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/01/03/uber-regulations-massachusetts-department-or-public-utilities-ridesharing-regulations/">formally recognized</a> ride-sharing services as an official mode of transportation in the state. </p><p>Furthermore, if Uber becomes a powerful tool in city government officials’ pockets, it can better make a case for its legitimacy and usefulness nationwide. </p><p>Next up is New York City, where Uber is currently in talks for another data sharing program, Justin Kintz, head of policy for North America, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/13/uber-offers-trip-data-to-cities-starting-in-boston/">told the Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p><em>Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/navaneethkn/7161702317/">Navaneeth KN</a></em></p>Let's forget about all that other unpleasantness, shall we?http://readwrite.com/2015/01/13/uber-shares-ride-data-boston
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/13/uber-shares-ride-data-bostonMobileTue, 13 Jan 2015 10:00:40 -0800Lauren OrsiniEFF To Apple: No iPhone App For You<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01bd9c76e0012a83" tml-image-caption="" tml-bad-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI1NDI4Mzk2ODY2OTY2ODAy.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>On Friday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation released an Android app designed to <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/download-eff-mobile-app">alert users about new digital-rights campaigns</a>, such as this&nbsp;one <a href="https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying">against NSA surveillance</a>. iPhone users, however, are out of luck; the EFF refused to release an iOS version of the same app, explaining that it found Apple's developer-agreement terms "<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/sorry-iphone-users-apples-dev-agreement-means-no-eff-mobile-app-iphone">outrageous</a>."</p><p>Among other things, the EFF objects to Apple's complete control over the availability of apps; they can only be distributed through the company's app store, and Apple can remotely disable apps on a whim should it choose to. The EFF is also not a fan of Apple's attempts to prevent developer from talking about the agreement itself.</p><p>Corynne McSherry is the intellectual property director at EFF and has worked there since 2006. She specializes in issues dealing with copyright, trademark, and free speech issues, and penned the post by EFF explaining its problems with the Apple terms. While neither Apple's developer agreement nor EFF's problems with it are new, McSherry said the issue seemed newly relevant given the organization's release of the Android app. </p><p>"We felt like we owed folks an explanation," she said. According to McSherry, Apple hasn't budged on the agreement. </p><p>"Suffice to say Apple is well-aware of our concerns," she said. "Apple has made a choice that they don't want to change that agreement. I think they're going to change it if they hear from enough people, not just EFF but also developers."</p><p>While the EFF feels the Google developer agreement for Android apps isn't perfect, it doesn't make the same "onerous" demands that Apple does. McSherry said that EFF understands many people and developers feel they need to agree to the terms for business reasons, and that the organization doesn't mean to imply anything negative about anyone that does agree to them. Still, EFF felt it needed to "walk the walk" as far as its espoused beliefs. </p><p>"We were not going to put our imprimatur on that agreement," she said. The EFF currently has <a href="https://act.eff.org/action/apple-your-developer-agreement-tramples-on-free-speech-and-innovation">a petition</a> asking Apple to make changes. </p><p>Apple did not respond to request for comment.</p><p><em>Photo by TonyV3112 for <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></em></p>It won't release its new app for iOS because of Apple's heavy-handed terms.http://readwrite.com/2015/01/12/eff-apple-developer-agreement-outrageous
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/12/eff-apple-developer-agreement-outrageousWebMon, 12 Jan 2015 05:00:00 -0800Richard ProcterThe Apps That Defined 2014<!-- tml-version="2" --><p><em><a href="http://readwrite.com/series/reflect">ReadWriteReflect</a> offers a look back at major technology trends, products and companies of the past year.</em></p><p>Pretty much all young adults—and a <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/">majority</a> of people living in the U.S.—have a smartphone these days, which means that apps are an increasingly important part of everyday life.&nbsp;</p><p>Apple’s 2009 ad slogan, “There’s an app for that,” is dated in only one respect: There’s no longer just one app for weather, or calorie counting, or instant messaging. There are dozens, which makes it harder than ever for new apps to stand out. That makes these apps that either debuted in 2014 or otherwise caught our attention all the more notable: The bar to success is higher than ever.</p><h2>2048</h2><div tml-image="ci01c24cbf50019512" tml-image-caption="" tml-bad-render-layout="inline" tml-render-size="medium" tml-render-position="right"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTI2NzQ4MTIzNTQ3NjI3NDkw.png" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>Available for iOS and Android</strong><br tml-linebreak="true" />Do you like blocks? Boy howdy is this the game for you. This simple game takes place on a 4x4 grid. You start with two blocks. Your goal is to combine blocks, which appear as either a 2 or a 4, into similar blocks. Swipe a 2 into another 2, it becomes a 4. Swipe a 4 into another 4 and it becomes 8. Not hard. What is hard is that your goal is to end up with a block that says 2048 (hence the powers-of-two-inspired name of the game). Try doing that in a small grid as new blocks spawn in random places. It’s an ideal app for passing the time on the train or in a waiting room, since you can pick it up or put it down with ease. Prepare for crushing disappointment, though, when you’ve been playing for 15 minutes and a 2 block spawns in the wrong place and ruins your day.</p><h2>HBO Go</h2><div tml-image="ci01c24d05800199de" tml-image-caption="" tml-bad-render-layout="inline" tml-render-size="large" tml-render-position="center"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTI2NzQ4NDI0NDYzNzUxNjQ2.png" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>Available for <a href="http://www.hbogo.com/#devices/">basically everything</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /></strong>While HBO's online-streaming app debuted in 2010, it makes this year's list not for its past, but for its future. After a test of HBO Go subscriptions in some Scandinavian countries, HBO announced in October that HBO Go would <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/12/10/hbo-go-streaming-game-of-thrones-cord-cutting">soon be available as a standalone app</a>, freed of the bundle of cable channels required to view it.</p><p>In the meantime, if you're an HBO subscriber through the old-fashioned cable-bill method, 2014 was a year when more and more avenues opened up to watching HBO Go, like Microsoft's Xbox One console, and, for Comcast subscribers, the Roku streaming stick. HBO Go still doesn't match Netflix in its ubiquity, but that should change as it becomes a solo offering—and cable companies like Charter and Comcast no longer have a say in where and how you stream it.</p><h2>Storehouse &amp; Steller</h2><div tml-image="ci01c24cf28001efe2" tml-image-caption="The Storehouse app on an iPad." tml-bad-render-layout="inline"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI2NzQ4MzQxNTE3MjA3NTYy.jpg" /><figcaption>The Storehouse app on an iPad.</figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>Available for iOS<br tml-linebreak="true" /></strong>Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine are all ways of telling stories with photos and videos—but you already knew that. This year, the storytelling tools to watch were&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2014/08/15/thinking-inside-the-box-storehouse-app-startup.html">Storehouse</a> and <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/21/storytelling-app-steller-becomes-more-of-a-social-network/">Steller</a>, which let&nbsp;users link text cards, photos, and videos together to tell stories, be it a travelogue or tips on how to host a party. They key attraction of both apps is that they’re easy to use and create polished-looking final products.&nbsp;</p><h2>Waterlogue<strong></strong></h2><div tml-image="ci01c24cdd0001efe2" tml-image-caption="" tml-bad-render-layout="inline" tml-render-size="large" tml-render-position="center"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTI2NzQ4MjUwNzg2MDMzNjM0.png" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>Available for iOS, $2.99<br tml-linebreak="true" /></strong>Art is really hard, at least for most people. So what if you could turn whatever photos you took into rad-looking watercolor paintings? Waterlogue, by Tinrocket, was released at the very end of 2013 and has consistently been one of the <a href="http://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/app/waterlogue/rank-history/#vtype=day&amp;countries=US&amp;start=2013-12-11&amp;end=2014-12-17&amp;device=iphone&amp;view=grossing&amp;lm=3">top-grossing</a> and highest-ranking photo and video apps in the iOS App Store, according to App Annie.&nbsp;</p>Kim Kardashian: Hollywood didn't make the list.http://readwrite.com/2014/12/30/top-apps-2014
http://readwrite.com/2014/12/30/top-apps-2014MobileTue, 30 Dec 2014 13:27:20 -0800Richard Procter